Buckle



F. A. Russ.

BUCKLE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I9. IsIs.

1,338,535, Patented Apr. 27, 1920. v

INVENTOR {jf/rilenol LEA/QM ATTORNEY n UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRIEND A. RUSS, 0F GREENWICII, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO ROBERT N. BASSETT COMPANY, INCORPORATED, CF SHELTON, CNNECIICUT, A CORPLllRA'lOf F CON- NECTICUT.

BUCKLE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr. 27, 1920.

Application filed February 19, 1919. Serial No. 278,062.

invention relates to buckles for runthe class used on hose supporters, Suspenders and like articles and its object is to provide such buckle to which the webbing may be attached by swaging.

In order to enable my invention to be understood by persons skilled in the art, I have vembodied the same in a well known type of sheet metal buckle in which the lever member is pivoted to a back plate having a slot through which passes the fixed end of the webbing. In such a buckle heretofore it has been customary to stitch the end of the webbing upon itself after it has been passed through the slot and in this manner to form a terminal loop in the webbing which embraces a portion ofthe back or bar on one side of the slot. My invention consists in the provision of means for eliminating the time and expense required in stitching the webbing in this manner, as will more fully appear in the buckle set forth in the following description and accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to corresponding parts.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a front view of my buckle, a portion of the lever and attached webbing shown broken away;

Fig. 2, a central vertical section of the buckle shown in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 an end View of the buckle before the webbing is attached thereto.

My buckle generally comprises the back A and the lever B. The back A is suitably blanked and struck up out of sheet metal to form the back plate 2 having the forwardly turned side ears 3, 3 provided with apertures t, 4. Extending transversely across the back plate 2 between the ears 3, 3 is a slot 5 having a lower edge 6. This slot is of a width suflicient to enable ordinary webbing to be passed freely therethrough and the upper extremity of the metal above the slot is folded downwardly and rearwardly to form a projecting lip 7 having a free edge 8, as shown in Fig. 3. The lever B is also suitably blanked and struck up out of sheet metal to form the front portion or finger piece 9, the 4web engaging edge 1C and the laterally projecting trunnions ll, l1, which latter are journaled in the apertures Il, l' in the side ears 3, 3 forming a pivotal connection between the lever and back. To web the buckle the extremity 7.: of the webbing C is inserted rearwardly through the slot 5 in the back plate 2. The lip 7 is then pressed down against the rear face of the back so that its edge 8 cooperates with the lower edge 6 of the slot 5 to securely fasten the extremity 7s. The extremity of the webbing being thus secured to the back the moving portion is folded rearwardly over the topv edge of the back, then downwardly and upwardly after which it is passed between the lever and front face portion of the back. The buckle strung in this manner forms an adjustable loop in the webbing, carrying the cast-off member l). By fastening the end ofthe webbing between the edge of the lip and the lower edge of the slot I am enabled to dispense with the stitching of the end to the back reach as is usually done in this style of buckle. I am also enabled to leave a shorter end of the webbing projecting through the slot than is required in the case of stitching, and since this short end is not connected to the back reach of the webbing it permits the latter to swing away from the back face of the buckle and take a straight downward direction when the buckle is tilted, as shown, and the webbing is under stress. Since the webbing gripping lip' 7 is inside the folded portion of the webbing, it does not separate the moving portion, which is engaged by the lever edge, and the fixed extremity passing over the front face of the back, so that the frictional surface presented by this underlying extremity to the moving portion assists in holding the latter and preventing it from slipping when the buckle is closed.

This is a feature which is not present in the prevailing style of buckle wherein the webbing is fastened to the front portion of the back plate by an upwardly turned lip. It is not necessary, however, that the lip should be bent downwardly from the top of the back plate since it may project from otherl convenient portions of the buckle provided it will coperate with the metal along one of the sides of the slot to grip the webhing passing through the slot, the broad feature of my invention being the means for fastening the .webbing by swaging as it passes through a slot in contra distinction to fastening the end of the webbing between the lip and the opposite face portion of a solid back. Vhile my novel means of fastening the webbing enables me to construct a lever buckle of the yrustless type having manifest merit, yet my invention is not confined to buckles of this type, since it is obvious that the slot and lip construction might be utilized to advantage in buckles, and like metal trimmings vof other types for running webbing, wherever desirable.

Having now described my invention, what l claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is: i

l. A buckle comprising a sheet metal plate having a slot for the passage of a running webbing, the metal on one side of said slot being folded upon itself to form a lip which is arranged to coperate with the metal on the opposite side of said slot to grip said webbing.

2. A buckle comprising a sheet metal plate having a slot for the passage of running webbing, the said plate on one side of said slot being folded on itself to form a lip the edge of which is arranged `to vbe pressed toward the opposite edge of said slot to grip said webbing.

3. A buckle comprising a sheet metal plate having an opening, the metall on one side of said opening being folded 'en itself to-A form a lip, in combi-nation with av running webbing which passes through 'said-opening, the said webbing being gripped between the edge of said lip and one edge of said opening. Y

4t. A lever buckle of the kind in which the back is provided with a sheet metal bar around which is folded `a runningV webbing, characterized `in that the said bar is folded on itself `to form a lip between the edge of which and an -edge on said back is gripped the end of the webbing. y

5.V A buckle comprising a sheet metal back plate Vhaving forwardly "turned side ears'between which is journaled a pivoted lever arranged to cooperate with the upper portion of said Vback plate, the said .back plate being provided vwith a slot betweensaidears andbeing folded on itselffonone side of said slot to form a lip, in combination with a running` webbing one end of which is fastened between the edge of said lip and one side of said slot, the said end being folded around said back above said slot .and the opposite end being passed upwardly between the lever and back.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my-hand this 14th dayof February 1919.

.FRIEND A. RUSS. 

